Uh, No.

That was amusing, seeing Leo & Jamal's reaction to the makeup side of the Detour. They knew they had fallen behind, but took one look at that other Detour option and changed their minds. Although funnily enough, it was getting rid of their facial hair that tipped them over the edge. Can't say I blame them, really. Jason and Travis are braver men than me. :p

Week 10 Results
1st place - Jason/Amy (2x)
2nd place - Tim/Marie (1.3x)
3rd place - Travis/Nicole (.7x)
4th place - Leo/Jamal (0x)

And Then There Were Still Eight

No one was eliminated this week! This is a pleasant change of pace!

Overall, scores were really solid. Jason/Amy helped people gain some points this week, although they were offset by Travis/Nicole (plus any boosters that were used). It's interesting, with such a small crew now, there's a little bit of gamesmanship that goes in the wagers. We'll see how that translates this final week.

The correct answer to the bonus game was Tim, by the way. Everyone whiffed on it, considering he's the quieter one of that duo.

This week's Greatest Gainer Award goes to Belle Book, who climbed 2 ranks this week. "2 ranks" doesn't sound like much, so instead, we'll characterize it as a "25% increase". It sounds better that way.

The Perfect Bet Award goes to Yogi (2.6x), who made a very sneaky and risky max-bet-max-booster on Jason/Amy. He hedged the 4x payout with a Travis/Nicole wager which zeroed out, giving him a little bit of a contingency plan. Nicely done, sir!

Leaderboard
1. Yogi - 2000
2. louislam - 1650
3. Ontheroadagain - 860
4. Belle Book - 792
5. beau_30 - 609
6. sarah1234 - 558
7. bbenzenberg - 520
8. kduck - 4

With his daring 4x gamble, Yogi has taken the lead heading into this final week. As you can see, though, this thing is faaaaaar from a runaway, as Final Jeopardy wagering will play a role in how things shape out. All 8 of you are definitely still in this thing!

Finale Rules

Finale Rules

We are now in the finale leg, so I should go over a couple of the slight rule changes that applies to the finale.

1. The overall team rankings (and payouts) will be based on the finish order at the Finish Line of The Amazing Race. Since we have 4 teams and may have two legs to go, the first leg will only determine who finishes 4th overall (0x), while the final 3 go on to determine teams 1, 2, and 3.

2. The final week is No Limit on your regular wager. Feel free to wager as many of your points as you wish on the regular game. There is a bet limit on the bonus game, however.

3. There is no Booster in this final week. Going No Limit with a potential 4x payout is a little too Golden Snitch-ish, if you get my TV Tropes (and Harry Potter?) drift. Why would we even bother playing the rest of the season?

4. You are allowed to make your finale wager in secret if you so desire, by sending me a private message. If you want to keep opponents guessing, it might not be a bad idea.

If you're concerned about me peeking at your picks, don't. I was knocked out of this thing weeks ago. :p

Finale Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 1.3x
3rd place - .7x
4th place - 0x

Max Individual Bet - NO LIMIT

We'll do the same payout table as last week, since the ranks are so evenly spaced out. In this final week, the difference between 1st and 2nd should mean something!

Bonus Game - That "Million" Bonus Game

And, as always, the final week's bonus game is the one where we guess which team will say the word "million" first in the episode. variations of the word will count, such as "millions", "millionaires", or "timiwanttowinamilliondollarssolistentome". All we're looking for is M-I-L-L-I-O-N to be spoken by them.

The recaps don't count as part of the episode, and if none of the teams ever say it (it has happened once before), then no answer is correct and all bonus wagers score 0x.

Million Payout Table
Correct Answer - 4x
Incorrect Answer - 0x

Max Bet - 300 points

I never know what a "fair" value to set on the final bonus game (since there's no max bet), so let's go with a potential +900 on the bonus. Last week's was about +900 points well, and it's about half of the leader's total score.

TAR23 Teams Remaining
Jason/Amy
Leo/Jamal
Tim/Marie
Travis/Nicole

Good luck everyone! This should be a very interesting finish!

A 2003 IceCat original